It has been 20 years since WERU-FM went on the air, broadcasting from a portion of a converted chicken barn in South Blue Hill.

In that time, the “little radio station that could” has grown into a staple for listeners throughout eastern Maine and for a growing audience around the country and the world tapping into the station’s offerings that are now streaming online.

WERU will celebrate its two decades on the air with events during the year, and will mark the anniversary with an open house Thursday, May 1, at the studio on Route 1 in Orland. The day will begin at 1 p.m. and will feature live music, a music sale from 2 to 6 p.m., station tours, an on-air open mike, and a potluck dinner.

It was May 1988 when the station first went on the air after a five-year effort to obtain an FCC license. During that time, the station was backed by Noel Paul Stookey’s Public Domain Foundation, which provided grant money for startup costs and space in the Hen House for the studio.

The staff was bare-bones – one full-time employee and three part-timers – and there were just 35 volunteers. That changed quickly after WERU started broadcasting as listeners joined the effort.

“I was listening on May 1, 1988, and I thought, ‘This is wonderful,'” said Cathy Melio, listener, volunteer and former general manager. “I applied for training as a volunteer and I’ve been involved ever since.”

Although no longer part of the staff, Melio still is host of her “Off the Cuff” program, which features music, information and interviews on a variety of topics.

“There was a sense of, ‘I can’t believe they’re letting me on the radio,”‘ Melio said. “I loved the live aspect of it and thought that this must be what radio used to be like. A lot of the appeal was that you could call the studio and there was someone live there to respond to what you’re saying.”

Today, the station has moved from the Hen House to a more central location in Orland. There are 11 full- and part-time employees, and WERU boasts a regular volunteer corps that numbers around 150, not counting the supporters who help out at special events. But the atmosphere, grown from the community radio concept, has remained the same.

Most of the volunteers still start out as listeners and they now work in all facets of the WERU operation.

“The volunteers are the life force of the radio station,” General Manager Matt Murphy said recently.

It is the listeners and the volunteers who drive the programming at the station. More than 90 percent of the station’s programming is locally produced.

A wide-ranging mix of music from bluegrass and country to fusion and techno-rock and much of what lies in between, as well as public affairs and call-in programming, fills the airwaves for much of each broadcast day.

Mark Dyer of Bass Harbor has been the host of one of the daily “On the Wing” music programs each week since 1990.

“I was hearing music that I wasn’t hearing on any other station,” Dyer said recently as he pulled CDs from the station library preparing for his regular slot. “Nobody else was playing it. And I wanted to be involved in it.”

Although the music shows are varied, they all feature a lot of local musicians from Maine and New England, according to Murphy.

“All the DJs pick their own music,” he said. “There are live people in the studios and they like to respond to callers and to help people get some exposure.”

The public affairs portion of the station offerings developed in much the same way; listeners who were interested or passionate about a certain issue proposed ideas for shows.

If there is a political slant to the programming on the station, it is one that has developed naturally as the station has developed, said Kathleen Rybarz of Lamoine, president of the WERU board of directors and the longtime co-host of the Celtic music program “New Potatoes.”

Part of the mission of WERU, she said, is to be the “voice of many voices,” and to provide a forum for issues that are not being addressed adequately in other media.

“These are the people who are showing up,” Rybarz said. “The shows are a measure of who wants to be involved. If there are certain views not being reflected on the air, it’s because there’s not anyone coming forward.”

The station has changed since 1988 and will continue to change over the next 20 years, according to general manager Murphy. Some of that change will be driven by technology as WERU figures out how best to use the broadening capabilities that communications technology offers. Changes also will reflect new programming to serve populations not yet adequately served, including young people and a growing Spanish-speaking population Down East.

But the people will remain the heart and soul of the station.

“It’s the people,” said Dyer. “The quality of people this station attracts is fantastic.”

For information on the open house, call 469-6600 or visit www.info@weru.

WERU is heard at 89.9 FM Blue Hill and at 102.9 FM Bangor.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

667-9394